“Hey, where are the
rock drops?” “I don’t know but this trail really needs a
couple crazy rock gardens!” “Did I miss the skinny
bridges and the double jumps?” “I don’t know, but I
can’t find a leg killing climb or a white knuckle
downhill anywhere on this trail!”
And That’s The Way Salem Fans Like
It..
No matter what the
Mountain Dew commercials or the latest thing in mountain
bike DVD’s would like you to think, everyone, and I mean
EVERYONE had their first mountain bike ride somewhere.
For some it was riding the big tired bike around Lake
Calhoun. For others, it was an old logging road up near
the parent’s cabin. Some riders got lucky and found a
dear trail in a local city park, while others had to
poach the hiking trails.
Everyone had their
first mountain bike ride somewhere, some good, some bad.
Whether it was on dirt or asphalt, legal or not, it was
a ride on a fat tire bike and hopefully only the
beginning to a wonderful life on wheels.
When the city of
Inver Grove Heights came to MORC asking if we could help
them develop a trail system in an underutilized park in
the
city we were all for it. After getting a chance to
walk through the park and see what we had to work with,
we found that this park would be perfectly suited to
building a beautiful piece of singletrack for first time
riders, yet interesting enough that even experienced
riders could enjoy the ride.
The park is about 70
acres, laid out in a long north/south direction with
gently rolling hills, a small pond and wet land area. A
major portion of the park is reclaimed farm land that
has been seeded with natural prairie grasses and
wildflowers. The city also has sections seeded with
hardwoods along with a few small sections of pine forest
and a few sections of hardwood forest.
The Trailhead is in
the northern part of the park which also includes 2
tennis courts, a basketball court, picnic area,
children’s playground, a softball/soccer field and a
small tree farm for the city. Parking is available for
about 50 cars and a Biff is available and water is to be
put in winter of 2006.
The park was
included in the 2003 IMBA Hot Spots program, a week long
IMBA program that concentrated on building urban
singletrack opportunities in cities across the country.
The city of Inver Grove Heights and MORC submitted and
was awarded a federal RTP grant to be used for the
construction of the trail and infrastructure for the
trail system.
The
trail has been open for riding since July of 2003 and
major construction was finished on the trail in the fall
of 2005. With the loss of Buck Hill Ski Area as a venue
for the first MNSCS race of the year, Erik’s Spring Cup,
MORC approached the city and Salem Hills
Elementary
School with a proposal to hold the 2006 race at the
park. Though it had a few hiccups as a first time
venue, and the course was a complete departure from what
the racers were used to at Buck, the race went off well
and will continue to be held here.
The
Details
The trailhead is
located at the south west corner of the paved trail
running between the Playground and the Basketball
court. The trail it self is set up in a series of
stacked loops. At the trail head you have the option of
going right or left.
To the right is the
first section of trail built at Salem during the Hot
Spots program. This section of
flowing singletrack winds through the woods on the
northern edge of the park. Numerous stainless steel and
Sterling silver forks found out here during the
construction of the trail and it thus has the
“unofficial” name North Forks Trail. The trail empties
from the woods at an old neighborhood trail built and
maintained by local residents to access the park.
Continuing on along
the trail, you will wind slowly up a small hill through
a wide expanse of blackberry bushes. During the right
time of year, and if the weather has been nice, handfuls
are available without ever getting off the bike. Just
watch out, it is real easy to come out of this section
of trail looking like you just had a wrestling match
with a housecat on crystal meth, thus the “unofficial”
name of the trail, Blood and Blackberries.
(Trail review by James Ford)
